For the first time in 31 installments, a Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal showdown will grace the hard courts of Cincinnati. But for much of the day it looked like the rivalry’s history would remain stuck on 30 chapters. After all, Federer almost bowed out of the tournament without even showing up on Thursday. He trailed Tommy Haas 6-1, 3-1 only to storm back and prevail 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. “Overall, I wasn’t playing terrible,” Federer said of the first set, although almost everyone would disagree. On being down 6-1, 3-1, he quipped: “I wasn’t euphoric about.”
The day ended with Nadal needing only a win over Grigor Dimitrov to book his spot alongside Federer in the quarterfinals. Whereas the Swiss had mounted a charge from a huge deficit, the Spaniard almost squandered a massive lead. He led Dimitrov by a set and a break before dropping serve twice and losing the middle frame of play 7-5. Nonetheless, Nadal righted the ship and cruised through the third for a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 triumph. He was up to his usual self in the press conference, calling Federer “the best of the history” and saying–as always–that he will have to play well in order to have any chance on Friday. In reality, of course, Nadal is a massive favorite based on current form. That being said, Federer’s relatively strong play (still far from the Federer of old) at the end of his match and Nadal’s second-set collapse against Dimitrov bring some doubt into the equation.
In other action, Juan Martin Del Potro survived a similar match against Feliciano Lopez. They kicked off the day on the Grandstand, with Del Potro leading by a set and a break before also finding himself in a third set. Lopez played a stellar match and befuddled his opponent with a steady diet of backhand slices and well-timed forays into the net. Del Potro was lackluster at times, but a time violation midway through the decider seemed to not only infuriate him but also inspire him to begin bludgeoning groundstrokes. Lopez, though, was seriously fun to watch in this one. Not only did he play extremely well, but he muttered in disgust at his box after just about every point–even ones he won. He also mastered the art of the sarcastic thumbs up.
Djokovic, meanwhile, was all over the place on Thursday. First he practiced on Court 10, then he destroyed David Goffin in 49 minutes, then he went back out to practice on Court 4. Whereas most of the world No. 1’s practices are absolute mob-scenes, almost nobody was at Court 4 since it was impromptu. Thanks to Goffin for that. It has to be said that Djokovic’s pre-practice routine is unbelievable. Ridiculous stretching with two different trainers, featuring his trademark flexibility. Surely nobody else on tour has a routine or is even capable of having a routine like Djokovic’s. Next up for the top seed is John Isner, who got past an ailing Milos Raonic 7-6(5), 6-4. Raonic had put nothing on his serve one day earlier against Janko Tipsarevic, so his chances going into this one were always poor. The Canadian even took a medical timeout early in the first set for what was clearly a sore shoulder. Still, he managed to bring Isner down to his level. Isner wasn’t the same player he was against Florian Mayer and Richard Gasquet, but as usual he served his way out of a tiebreaker and soon managed to battle back from a break down in the second set. In fact, the 6’10” American won the last four games of the match from 1-4 to 6-4.
While Nadal was struggling with Dimitrov, Tomas Berdych was enjoying one-way traffic against Tommy Robredo out on Court 3. Robredo had the odds stacked against him, not only facing the Czech on a fast hard court but also coming off a late-night thriller against Stanislas Wawrinka. It did not help that Berdych was in great form, arguably looking better than anyone other than Djokovic. All the fans were at Nadal-Dimitrov, so to say the crowd for Berdych was sparse would be an understatement. Berdych vs. Andy Murray could very well end up being the best of Friday’s quarterfinals. Once again, Murray is banished to the Grandstand. How is Del Potro vs. Dmitry Tursunov on Stadium over Murray-Berdych?
It all makes for a blockbuster quarterfinal lineup on Friday: Del Potro vs. Tursunov, Murray vs. Berdych, Djokovic vs. Isner, and Federer vs. Nadal.
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